Jakarta, domclub Indonesia
—
Disaster
floods and landslides
that hit Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra shows that the current cyclonic storms are getting worse due to
climate crisis
.
The cyclonic storm unleashed torrential rains, damaged infrastructure, covered homes in mud and tore through green slopes, leaving families trapped on rooftops while waiting for help.
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The devastating impact marks an alarming increase in the number of deadly weather events across the region, made worse by layers of carbon pollution warming the planet.
A review by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that South Asia and Southeast Asia will experience more intense rainfall as temperatures rise, with monsoon regions facing a significant increase in the frequency of flooding.
Roxy Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and one of the authors of the IPCC’s latest report, said cyclones have changed more than their numbers this season.
“They are wetter and more destructive because the basic climate has changed. Water, not wind, is now the main factor causing disasters,” said Koll, reporting
The Guardian
, Tuesday (2/12).
Natural weather patterns, including the La Niña cycle and the Indian Ocean negative dipole pattern, have helped create the conditions necessary for storm formation.
Although scientists have yet to determine the extent to which planet-warming pollution is contributing to the rising death toll, they have long established that warmer air holds more water vapor, about 7 percent more for every degree Celsius of warming.
This additional moisture, along with the increased energy from the hotter ocean, causes much more powerful storms.
“Across South and Southeast Asia, this season’s storms are bringing extraordinary amounts of moisture,” Koll said.
Warmer seas and air mean weather systems carry more water vapor, so that even moderate-intensity storms now produce extreme rainfall, destabilize slopes and trigger a series of disasters.
“Landslides and flash floods then hit the most vulnerable groups, namely the people who live along this fragile environment,” he continued
In Indonesia, the condition is worsened by deforestation.A number of vulnerable areas are now increasingly vulnerable to flooding, because forests that should be able to absorb water and stabilize the soil are now being completely cut down.
Sonia Seneviratne, a climate scientist at ETH Zurich and co-author of the latest IPCC report, said that other human factors may be exacerbating the severity of flooding, but this does not contradict the role of climate change in amplifying rainfall.
“We have a very clear signal of increasing extreme rainfall along with global warming, both globally and in Asia,” Seneviratne said.
“The influence of human-caused climate change on increasing extreme rainfall has been scientifically proven, and this is a key factor in the reported flooding,” he continued.
In recent years the number of fatalities from floods and storms has decreased significantly throughout the world, as governments have attempted to establish early warning systems and become more skilled at evacuating people before disasters strike.
However, even in middle-income countries that have made significant progress in reducing the number of deaths and increasing displacement rates, experts say that emergency response systems remain uneven.
Alexander Matheou, Asia-Pacific Regional Director for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said that the situation in Southeast Asia still requires a better early warning system, a safe haven for people if floods occur.
“More nature-based solutions – planting trees and mangroves in areas at high risk of flooding to protect communities,” said Matheou.
“People also need better social protection systems in disasters so they can quickly get the cash, food, medicine and shelter they need when disasters strike,” he continued.
(wpj/dmi)
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